Photographic printing frame



J1me 1953 w. s. CHRISTIANSEN ETAL ,64

PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTING FRAME Filed July 25, 1950 WILLIAM S CHRTSTIANSEN ARTHUR C. RISSBERGERNR.

INVENTORS ATTORNEYS v Patented June 16, 1953 William S. Christiansen andArthur C. Rissberger, Jr., Rochester, vN. Y., assignors to Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, N. Y. a corporation of New Jersey Application July 25, 1950, Seria-l'hlo. 17 5,754

1 claim. 1

This invention relates to printing frames which are simple in construction and Which are designed for amateur use. One object of our invention is to provide an inexpensive printing frame which, nevertheless, will hold a sheet of printing paper accurately in engagement with a negative for a printing operation. Another object of our invention is to provide a printing frame in which the frame member is made from a single piece of formed metal, and in which the platen is also a single piece of metal, interengaging latch elements being provided to hold the platen in the frame in an operative position. Another object of our invention is to provide a simple form of latching and releasing mechanism for holdin the platen in place. Still, another object of our invention is to provide a means for supporting the printing frame in a printing position. Other objects will appear from the following specification, the novel features being particularly pointed out in the claim at the end thereof.

Coming now to the drawings wherein like reference characters denote like parts throughout:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a printing frame in assembled relationship and constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of our invention;

Fig. 2 i a view similar to Fig. 1 but with the parts in a separated position to show their relationship; and

Fig. 3 is a detailed section on line 33 of Fig. 1.

Our invention relates to a simple type of printing frame which may be made of three pieces of material and in three parts, two of which are metal and one of which is glass. These parts when assembled are adapted to hold a sheet of printing paper in intimate contact with the negative, and a mask of paper, plastic or the like, may also be used to produce margins of less size than that obtained with the metal frame itself.

More specifically, our improved printing frame consists of a frame member I which is preferably stamped out of metal; this frame having side flanges 2 on opposite sides of a central opening 3. At one end, there is an upwardly projecting flange 4 which is bent upwardly from a line 5 and is provided with an upstanding foot 6 which preferably carries a punched-out lug l constituting a latch element. Opposite the flange 4 there is a second flange 8, this flange 8 having a central area 9 which is cut away and having a pair of outwardly projecting spaced feet In which, with the foot 6, provide a means for supporting the printing frame with the printing opening upwardly on a suitable table or beneath a suitable printing lamp. The flange 8, as best shown in Fig. 3, is beveled inwardly and then formed upwardly at 9. Spaced feet l0 project substantially at right angles to the plane of the frame member I. There is a receptacle or pocket into which the printing panel, which is preferably a glass plate It and the platen which is a metal plate 12, may project when the parts are in assembled relationship, as shown in Fig. 1.

The platen I2 is a metal plate made slightly concave, the metal being of a more or less springy nature. At one end, a spring arm is formed backwardly over the plate, after which it is bent at H and extends forwardly so that a cross section of this portion of the plate would be more or less 2 shaped to enable this arm to form a latch element. The arm is brought forward at l5 so that it may snap beneath the latch element 1 of the frame. By forming this lug Z shaped in cross section, the latch elements may be readily engaged by pressing the spring arm downwardly along the line A until the edge of the arm 15 engages the latch element '1. To release, the spring arm may be pressed at B close to the fold 14, thereby tending to rock the arm about the platen [2 to pull the edge of arm I 5 from beneath the latch element 1. Thus, the Z shaped arm not only serves as a handle to insert the end of the platen l2 beneath the beveled flange at the end 8 of the printing frame, but also by pressing on the outer end A the latch elements may be engaged, and by pressing on the inner edge B, the latch element may be released.

Since the platen I2 is slightly concaved transversely of its length, after the edge opposite the spring arm is engaged beneath the beveled flange, in pressing the platen into its latched position the concavity of the plate flattens out, thereby ironing the printing paper into smooth contact with the negative end on the glass plate H5, or on the glass, plate and a mask, if a masking member is use From the above description it will be seen that our printing frame is simple and inexpensive, being made of two pieces of metal and one piece of glass, and so arranged that the platen can be 7 readily and accurately positioned and removed 3 to the inwardly beveled flange, said second flange having a latch element thereon extending inwardly therefrom, a printing panel and a platen adapted to be positioned on the flanged frame with one end of the printing panel and platen lying under the inwardly beveled flange whereby the platen may turn about the inwardly beveled flange in moving to and from the printing frame, a spring arm extending from an edge of the platen backwardly over the platen and then forwardly toward the latch element and overlying the said edge of the platen whereby the outer edge of the arm may serve as a spring latch to engage the latch element on the metal frame flange to hold the parts in an assembled relationship when the platen latch is pressed downwardly on its outer end, thereby compressing the spring arm toward the platen and engaging the latch element of the printing frame, the latch element of the platen being disengageable from the latch element of the 2 frame by pressing that portion of the spring latch element lying backwardly over the platen to release the latching edge of the spring latch element from the latch element of the flange.

WILLIAM S. CHRISTIANSEN. ARTHUR C. RISSBERGER, JR.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,056,099 Herreshofi" Mar. 18, 1913 1,097,009 Dill May 19, 1914 1,104,219 Polverino July 21, 1914 1,765,325 Day June 17, 1930 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 150,369 Austria Aug. 10, 1937 r 

